• WAFAQI MOHTASIB’S INSPECTION TEAM VISITS EXCISE AND TAXATION OFFICE
• STRESSES THE NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE PROVISION OF REGISTRATION FACILITY ONLINE AND AT RESIDENCES
• ETO DIRECTED TO PROVIDE ONE WINDOW DESK FACILITYAND LAUNCH AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Islamabad, April 25, 2024: An Inspection Team from the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Office today visited the Excise and Taxation Office, Islamabad under the directions of the Federal Ombudsman, Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, with a view to ascertaining the difficulties being faced by the general public with regard to registration of vehicles. Headed by a Senior Advisor, the Inspection Team met with the people there and listened to their complaints for prompt redressal.

The Inspection Team has submitted its report to the Wafaqi Mohtasib, who directed that a one window facilitation desk may be established therein to provide all facilities to the public under one roof. The Inspection Team was informed by the ETO Office that facilities relating to registration of the vehicles, transfer of registration and payment of token tax etc. are currently available Online. Moreover, the ETO Office is also providing such facilities at the residence of the applicants by payment of a nominal fee of Rs.1900/-. It further informed that the mobile teams from the ETO Office are also providing the registration facilities to the general public at the public parks and other public places daily after 4 pm.

Commending the provision of facilities, the Wafaqi Mohtasib directed the ETO Office to launch an awareness campaign in this regard for the benefit of the common man.

During the visit, some of the petitioners present informed the Inspection Team that the agent mafia active there, was charging Rs. 200/- for providing one registration form, whereas, Rs.50 are being charged for making a single photo copy. The fact of the matter, they say, is that the registration form for vehicles should be made available for free and the official rate for photocopy i.e. Rs.05 and Rs.10 respectively, be enforced.

The Inspection Team instructed the administration to prominently display the respective requirements for registration, transfer and submission of token tax of the vehicles on the sign boards in English and Urdu, apart from providing the relevant information regarding Online registration.

MESSAAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASIAN OMBUDSMAN ASSOCIATION (AOA) AND WAFAQI MOHTASIB (OMBUDSMAN) OF PAKISTAN.

            In a recorded message, he said, “I feel immense pleasure to know that the Institute of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) is organizing a 2-day International Conference on February 23-24, 2024 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to mark the 29^th Anniversary of the Institute of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman).

2. The aims and objectives of the proposed event are indeed laudable particularly with regard to sharing of experiences and best practices. I am confident that such an august gathering of experienced Parliamentarians, representatives of International Organizations and members of the civil society would be able to chart a new course with regard to protecting human rights, civil liberties and freedoms. The collective wisdom of the dignitaries participating the Tashkent Conference would, I am sure, be able to rise to the occasion for meeting the contemporary challenges.
3. Presently the world community has become a global village, owing to the advancements in science & technology, the necessity of such an event cannot be over emphasized. I think it is about time to renew our commitment to the cause of Ombudsmanship and to explore avenues for opening up new vistas of international cooperation. As President of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), I would like to commend the efforts of your organization and wish the upcoming conference a great success”.

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, presented the annual report for 2023 to the Parliament.

During her speech at the Parliament, the Ombudsman gave information about the state of the protection of human rights and freedoms in the Republic of Azerbaijan, activities carried out, current challenges, and upcoming tasks in 2023.

The Ombudsman’s 2023 annual report was placed on the official website of the Institution and submitted to relevant media outlets for wide public dissemination.

For the further information see the linkhttps://bit.ly/4ajlqQq

• WAFAQI MOHTASIB ADDRESSES AOA WEBINAR ON PROTECTION AGAINST HARASSMENT AT THE WORK PLACE.
• OMBUDSMANSHIP HAS TAKEN FIRM ROOTS IN PAKISTAN – WAFAQI MOHTASIB

Islamabad: 27^th March, 2024:   The Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan, Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has said that the Parliament adopted an Act for Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace in 2010 with a view to implementing the relevant provisions in the Constitution and ensuring equal opportunity for men and women and the right to earn a livelihood without fear or any discrimination.

He was inaugurating a Webinar on Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace, organized under the aegis of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), here today. It was attended by the members of the AOA besides the human rights practitioners and activists in addition to the members of the OIC Ombudsman Association (OICOA) and the Forum of Pakistan’s Ombudsman (FPO).

Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, who is also the current President of the 47-member strong Asian Ombudsman Association, said that the Constitution of Pakistan upholds the principle of equality and dignity alongwith explicitly prohibiting gender discrimination in all spheres of national life. He further stated that the enactment of the relevant law against harassment in 2010 was followed by two more Acts of the Parliament in 2020 and 2022 respectively, expanding the scope of its legal provision to include men, women and transgenders alike. Enforcement of the Women’s Property Rights was also brought within the purview of these legislative provisions, he added. Hesaid that the Webinar is intended to share Pakistan’s experiences, best practices and the exchange of information with a view to promoting gender equality and the right to work with dignity for all.

Later Ms. Fauzia Viqar, Federal Ombudsperson Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (FOSPAH)also made a presentation on the scope of work and operational framework of the FOSPAH, which was established in 2011. She said that FOSPAH was playing a vital role in upholding the constitutional provision of equality and dignity alongwith striving to create an environment free of harassment and discrimination. She further added that Pakistan has the distinction as being the only country with a dedicated Ombudsperson Institution to deal with the challenges of women empowerment and denial of rights, thereby emphasizing the need for support to over 49% of the population. The presentation was followed by a lively Q/A session, wherein international participants asked searching questions about Pakistan’s experiences in these fields and requested for sharing of best practices to move forward.

Organized in the backdrop of the International Women’s Day, the Webinar holds special significance for the member states as these are striving to overcome identical challenges particularly with regard to women empowerment and protection. So far, the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat has received nearly 75 confirmations to attend the Webinar online. The nominations received from the AOA members included, the People’s Republic of China, Thailand, Japan, Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Korea, Türkiye and Indonesia,apart from the Provincial Ombudsmen in Pakistan and representatives from the Regional Offices of the Wafaqi Mohtasib.

The service for the protection of the rights of patients in psychiatric hospitals of the Ombudsman Institute of the Kyrgyz Republic has moved to the main administrative building of the Republican Psychiatry and Narcology Center (RPNB).

On the basis of the 2009 resolution of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the management of the RPNB allocated three offices for the employees of the Ombudsperson Institute in the block adjacent to the reception.

The employees of the institute have started their activities in the building of RPNB according to their mandate: to conduct constant monitoring to prevent cruel and inhumane treatment and also to provide legal assistance to citizens.

The decision to relocate the service of the institute to RPNB was made by the Ombudsperson of the Kyrgyz Republic Jamilya Dzamanbaeva to ensure the protection of patients’ rights.
Dzhamilya Dzamanbayeva visited the RPNB and got acquainted with the conditions of treatment of patients in a closed institution.

On January 31, 2024, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Feruza Eshmatova held a regular reception of citizens.

About 50 citizens came to the reception and left their appeals on the provision of housing, social protection, material assistance, abolition of administrative responsibility, naturalization, amnesty, labor law and court proceedings.

It should be noted that citizens can address the Ombudsman through the website ombudsman.uz, by sending e-mails, as well as directly to the regional representatives of the Ombudsman in the regions.

The Public Defender welcomes the decision [1] to reduce the interest rate on loans taken by pensioners before 2023, [2] which the Public Defender had requested in the proposal sent to the National Bank.

On January 8, 2024, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the National Bank of Georgia with a proposal to develop a resolution/instruction by which JSC Liberty Bank would refinance/restructure the monetary liability of the beneficiary pensioners and make it possible to return to the conditions existing before the postponement of loans due to the spread of corona virus and the old payment schedule.

In addition, the Public Defender demanded that all measures be taken to automatically recalculate pensioners’ overdraft agreements and adapt them to the new, low-interest conditions effective from 2023.

According to the National Bank,[3] financial organizations were given a written instruction on the possibility of returning to the old payment schedule and on the provision of information to the loan beneficiaries in writing about the payment schedule. As for the interest recalculation, according to information posted on the website of the Administration of the Government, more than 150,000 pensioners who took a loan before 2023 will have their loan interest rate reduced and it will equal the interest rate established in 2023.

The Public Defender follows the mentioned process and hopes that in the shortest possible time the interest rates will be brought in line with the interest rate established from 2023 for all pensioners.

The serious challenges we have faced have had an impact on all spheres of our life, made adjustments to the work of state bodies, including human rights activities, – with these words the expanded meeting of the Expert Council under the Commissioner was opened, where we presented the draft report On the activities of the Commissioner for human rights in Republic of Tatarstan in 2023, and set the tasks for work in 2024.

The facts about the violation of the rights of residents of the republic we receive from different sources, and we try to find an individual approach to each applicant.

In 2023, the Office of Commissioner for human rights received 5,750 communications from citizens.

More than 104000 notifications (104667) from citizens came to the SIS of RT «Public Control», and more than 60 000 (60 167) – through the feedback platform of the Unified portal of state and municipal services «State Services. We solve together». 80% of notifications in the system «Public control» were decided (84 013). More than 4.8 million were received comments and support from our residents.

The Commissioner described in detail all areas of work of the Office of the Commissioner. She highlighted the acute problems of citizens, the urgent solutions required. Also, plans for the next year were made.

It is from the work of managers and responsible performers in municipalities, ministries and departments that depends on timely and qualitative execution of notifications of citizens in «Public control».

Today Mrs. Saburskaya Sariya Kharisovna, the Commissioner for Human Rights held a session for students of the advanced training program at the Higher School of State and Municipal Administration of KFU. The training program is aimed at studying the experience of the main moderator of the system «Public Control», the requirements to messages published in this system, and the order of their consideration, the order of analysis of incoming messages and identification of the most «hot topics» operational work with messages coming to SIS RT «Public control».

During the training the seminar participants were introduced to:

–     the order of consideration, terms of execution of notifications in SIS RT «Public control» and «feedback platform», the order of placement of answers to them,

–     the procedure for identifying the most relevant communications from citizens requiring immediate decision,

Methods for monitoring and analysing messages

–     ways to control the timing and quality of processing and decisions on notifications,

–     the procedure for collecting information on citizens’ satisfaction with the results of consideration of notifications,

–     experience in media relations.

The accused P. D. who was brought to criminal responsibility for non-payment of alimony, turned to the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) with a request to mitigate the imposed punishment.

It was established that by the verdict of the Bekabad District Court for criminal cases of November 2023, the applicant P.D. was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 122 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, sentenced to 1 year of imprisonment, and removed from the courtroom under arrest.

The applicant stated in his application that his alimony debt is currently fully repaid. This appeal was taken under the control of the Ombudsman, and with regard to the defendant P.D., the Ombudsman’s conclusion on the imposition of a punishment not related to deprivation of liberty was submitted to the court.

By the decision of the appellate instance, the criminal collegiate bench of the Tashkent Regional Court, dated February 5, 2024, the defendant P.D. was sentenced to 2 months and 15 days of imprisonment, and he is currently at home with his family.

It is worth noting that in 2023, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) received about 300 complaints regarding the recovery of alimony. This number increased by 17.8% compared to 2022. As a result of studying these appeals, the Ombudsman ensured the collection of alimony payments amounting to 80.7 million soums for the support of minor children of women.

Also, as a result of the Ombudsman’s appeals to the relevant government agencies, administrative punishment in the form of 15 days’ imprisonment was imposed on 5 individuals evading the payment of alimony, and in 3 cases, the debtors were subjected to administrative detention.

It is important to remember that according to Article 77 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, parents and those substituting them are obliged to care for their children until they reach adulthood, ensuring their upbringing, education, and healthy, full, and harmonious development.

In accordance with Article 474 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, individuals who fail to timely pay child support may face punishment in the form of up to 15 days of imprisonment or a fine of 20 times the minimum wage, as well as mandatory community service for up to 120 hours.

A person who commits an offense for the first time is exempt from liability if they voluntarily repay their child support debt during the consideration of the administrative offense case. Failure to fulfill the obligation to pay child support even after administrative penalties have been imposed on the debtor is grounds for criminal liability.

In accordance with Article 14 of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan, “On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan”, the report of the Ombudsperson on the protection of human rights in the country for 2023 has been prepared.

No later than 2 months after the end of the current year, the Ombudsperson submits the annual report to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and presents the report to the Milli Majlis.

The annual report is also sent to the Cabinet of Ministers, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and the Prosecutor General.

The report of the Commissioner for Human Rights was submitted to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and sent to the relevant state institutions on February 27, 2024, in accordance with the procedure established by the Constitutional Law.

The report for 2023 reflects the activities of the Ombudsperson in the field of restoration of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and in the international treaties to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party and violated by governmental and municipal bodies and officials of the Republic of Azerbaijan, prevention of human rights violations, the results of awareness raising and scientific-analytical activity, cooperation with the public and civil society institutions, international relations, as well as proposals and recommendations aimed at more effective provision of human and civil rights and freedoms.

After hearing the Report in the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it will be published in the media for the general public.